When a filmmaker is influenced by one of the all-time classics, that filmmaker best deliver a movie that not only stands up to inevitable comparisons, but also one that has its own identity, playing as more than a copy. Writer/director Scott Cooper succeeds on both counts even as he tips his Stetson to John Ford’s western classic THE SEARCHERS.

Cooper re-teams with Christian Bale, who plays the quietly simmering Captain Blocker. It’s 1892, and the legendary Army officer/soldier/guide is ordered to escort a Cheyenne Chief and his family through dangerous and unchartered New Mexico territory, so that the Chief may die in peace in his native Valley of the Bears, Montana. During a career of brutal warfare against the Native Americans, Captain Blocker has developed a deep-seeded hatred, and only accepts the assignment after his pension is threatened.

The opening sequence immediately immerses us in the constant danger faced during this era. Rosamund Pike watches as her homesteading family is brutally slaughtered by Comanche warriors. She survives only by escaping into the woods, although it’s a bit of stretch to believe that this homemaker could outwit the Comanches. Circumstances find Ms. Pike’s traumatised character (the actress’s go-to wide-eyed look) joining and complicating Captain Blocker’s convoy.

Wes Studi plays Chief Yellow Hawk, and the film’s only weakness is in his not having a more substantive role, as we are teased a couple of times with nuanced exchanges between he and Bales’ Blocker. The somber film follows this traveling party as they move slowly and methodically across the open plains and wilderness. There are no moments of levity, as death and danger are constantly hovering. No real reason for optimism exists, and surviving the day is the only goal. Despite the appearance of little happening, there is much going on here for the characters and in commentary on the times. At its core, the story is about Blocker’s reclamation of his soul and humanity; although redemption may not be possible as he recalls Julius Caesar and getting used to killing, but not to losing men.

Political correctness is avoided in many scenes, though the message is clear that the hatred between the Native Americans and the mostly Anglo settlers and soldiers stems from the unethical seizure of land by violent force. Amends are not possible even with a change of heart. It’s in these moments where we desire a more in-depth look at the various native factions.

Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi works with some amazing vistas, landscapes and rock formations. He deftly balances the breathtaking beauty of the land with the intimacy of the mission. There is a relentless undercurrent of simmering emotion throughout the film, much of which comes courtesy of Christian Bale, who is remarkably adept at silently expressing disgust, rage, resolve and resignation. His groans and grunts convey as much as soliloquies for many actors. While he feels remorse and seeks redemption, we are left with the not-especially-upbeat message that we are what we are.

Have you ever had too little ingredients to make a full meal so instead you gather a bunch of usually tasty ingredients and throw them all together hoping for a stroke of genius but instead you’re left with an uneven overpacked mess? Well, you might just have cooked up The Cloverfield Paradox.

Since last year, when the project was originally called God Particle, I’ve been following this film closely. As a hardcore sci-fi enthusiast and a fan of the Cloverfield series thus far, the lack of information besides a small synopsis had me intrigued. I was all aboard the Cloverfield film series. The idea of an ongoing anthology series of science fiction films made my nether region quiver. Cracks began to surface when the film was frequently delayed in 2017.

Eventually, it was pushed to 2018 without an official release date. Another cause for panic was Paramount’s decision to hand over its release to Netflix with no plans for a theatrical release. This was similar to another move that drew criticism earlier this year with Paramount’s decision to hand over Annihilation’s international release to Netflix as producer, David Ellison, deemed the film ‘too complicated’.

Fuck this guy!!

The decision to drop the first trailer during the Super Bowl and subsequently release the feature on Netflix right after the game was a stroke of genius. Rather than spend millions on marketing and hyping the project with posters, teasers, and trailers; Netflix instead threw it all out there on one of the biggest television events of the year. The Cloverfield series has used ingenious ways to market each film but The Cloverfield Paradox is unprecedented, a move that got everyone talking.

For the first half, the build-up was justified. The film kicks into gear almost immediately and the first signs of events going awry have weight and impact. There are moments of body horror and madness that brought Event Horizon to mind and had me hoping for a Lovecraftian tale in space. Then the second half saunters in and eradicates all good memories of the first. Any logical conclusion to the strange proceedings is just given the illogical explanation of Parallel Universes bro, shit doesn’t need to make sense. The crew runs amok and makes the Prometheus crew look like geniuses. The film drops all horror elements and becomes a run of the mill, we’ve got to get back home storyline. But perhaps most insulting is how uninspired the film becomes by ripping cliches and plot elements from better films.

The film was reshot and the plot changed in post-production and it’s painfully obvious. There’s a tacked on story where one of the crew’s partners is back on earth. It’s derivative and amounts to nothing but to lazily tie the film to the first Cloverfield. What worked for the first two films was how self-contained they were, the first had a grand scale event happening in the background but we followed just a close group of people trying to survive, the second is basically a bottle film which mostly takes place in a handful of rooms. Cloverfield Paradox is so uneven in tone and story that it never utilizes the claustrophobia of the spacecraft’s tight corridors (a setting that’s been pretty established since 1979).

While only a brief moment of exciting buzz, the product could not live up to the event. Another case of a film being butchered in postproduction to fit an overarching story. The Cloverfield Paradox attempts to establish a connecting narrative for the series but only succeeds in muddying the waters and leaving me confused. If the series is to thrive, it needs to focus on original and strange tales that stand on their own two feet (maybe with an odd easter egg from previous films).

Coco marks a significant new direction for animation powerhouse, Pixar, in choosing to focus their story on an actual culture and celebrated festival; Mexico’s Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Traditionally Pixar has focused their films on more fantastical stories such as superheroes, Toys who are alive and talking fish. It’s hard not to draw similarities to Disney’s Moana, which focused on Polynesian culture and history. It’s a welcome change to see these animation studios centering stories on these cultures with rich values, history, and mythos.

In Santa Cecelia, Mexico, Miguel dreams of becoming a musician despite his family banning any kind of music from their household due to his great, great grandfather abandoning his family to pursue his dream of playing music. Despite the tight-knitted bond Miguel shares with his family, they reject his aspirations and discourage him from his dream. After a serious disagreement with his grandmother, Miguel decides to follow in the footsteps of his idol, De La Cruz, and prove his talent. Unfortunately for Miguel, true some mishaps, he finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead where he’s reunited with his past relatives.

Coco is one of Pixar’s most visually appealing films yet. It’s a canvass of vibrant colours and smooth animation bringing this land of the Dead alive. The Day of the Dead is an already visually impressive festival that lends itself perfectly to Pixar’s creative team. Perhaps even more impressive are the songs in Coco. Pixar is not known for having musical numbers or songs in their films, a feat someone as miserable as me has always appreciated, but even I have to admit the music is great and seamlessly realizes the beauty of Spanish guitar.

Coco focuses largely on family and uses it’s setting to establish the close bond between Mexican families. What Coco does more interestingly is display both the positives and negatives of families as Miguel’s family, both living and dead, take on an antagonistic role early on. Legacy is a theme that runs concurrently throughout the story as the citizens of The Land of the Dead existence depends on their living relatives remembering them. It’s a very adult theme that is sure to hit home for parents.

Where the film falters is when it begins to fall into a familar territory. Certain story beats feel ripped from other movies such as The Book of Life and even some past Pixar films. Frustratingly this lead to the film being a little too predictable as I called most of the story beat early on. However, a little twist I predicted had a far more sinister revelation than I anticipated and enjoyed this dark turn.

Coco is another quality effort from Pixar and while it’s certainly the best film out of their last three efforts, it doesn’t quite stand shoulder to shoulder with some of their classics. Unfortunately, its a tad familiar and predictable but keeps its heart in the right place by focusing on family. Beautiful to look at, plenty of laughs and surprisingly catchy songs, Coco is sure to capture audience imaginations and give others a bit of Mexican flavour.

Rating: 3.75 / 5 Tequila Sunrises

]]>https://reeltimeflicks.com/2018/01/23/coco-2017/feed/0coco-2017-movie-8k-4t-7680x4320reeltimedublino_ipB0BEoi6P1XwZTkeYtvS8WAB4LU1s.jpgAll the Money in the World (2018)https://reeltimeflicks.com/2018/01/22/all-the-money-in-the-world/
https://reeltimeflicks.com/2018/01/22/all-the-money-in-the-world/#respondMon, 22 Jan 2018 19:57:40 +0000http://reeltimeflicks.com/?p=9872

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer & Mark Wahlberg

Review Author: Shaun

I’m willing to bet that this film would have flown under people’s radar had it not been for Christopher Plummer replacing Kevin Spacey. Reports suggest that the re-shoot took 8 days to shoot and cost the film $10 million. After seeing All the Money in the World for myself, I can safely say that it was $10 million worth spent.

All the Money in the world is a very cleverly written, somber, thriller that creates its suspense through the silent treatment. Although you can expect one or two gruesome scenes, some people may make the mistake of seeing the word “thriller” and instantly think of tense action and drama. While All the Money in the World delivers on the drama, don’t expect a lot of action. The script is very dialogue heavy and relies on pivotal exposition and verbal sparring for the story to progress.

Christopher Plummer plays the role of J. Paul Getty, and to his credit, he has done a remarkable job of bringing this larger than life character to life. Being the richest man in the world, there is a lot to explore with that contributing factor in mind. Writer David Scarpa has done a fantastic job of showing a character who must cope with being the man everyone turns to for money, and because of his skill as a masterful negotiator, always has to come out on top. Even if it means destroying his relationship with his family.

There is no denying that Christopher Plummer is the biggest talking point of the film, but what about the rest of the talent? The kidnapped John Paul Getty III, often called Paulo, played by Charlie Plummer, is the subject of the films most intriguing scenes as he sees the development of an awkward, reverse Stockholm Syndrome bond with his kidnapper Cinquanta (Romain Duris). These scenes are remarkable as they work in getting to know Cinquanta has the most heart of all the kidnappers but also sets the ball rolling for the more suspenseful scenes of the film.

Michelle Williams as Gail Harris, the mother of Paolo, is fantastic. Through her incredible performance, she shows the struggle that this character is feeling. It’s translated to the audience with ease as her character must live under the illusion that she can easily pay off the ransom. Mark Wahlberg stars as ex-spy, Fletcher Chase, who gets to see first hand the true colours of the Getty family. Mark’s performance is again very good proving that he doesn’t just have to star as a hardened patriot. Amusingly, you can notice his body mass changing from different scenes due to the reshoots.

Although a story that is stranger than fiction, many scenes are vastly drawn out and have little payoff. It feels like Ridley wanted to cram in as much of the interesting details as possible but did not have the runtime to expand on them. It creates a sense of aimlessness and derives from a solid premise. A more linear approach would have elevated the material.

Overall, All the Money in the World is a solid thriller with great dialogue and an incredible performance by Christopher Plummer given the circumstances. The Golden Globe nominations this film has receives are well deserved but to say that this film is an Academy Award hopeful is stretching it a bit. There are many elements holding this film back, from the lack of payoff and an inconsistent tone which hinders its chances of snagging the coveted award. It is the characters and their performances that mold this film together, without their clear commitment to this project it would have the possibility of falling apart, but Ridley Scott has managed to pull it off.

Despite what the naysayers say, here at Reel Time we believe 2017 was a very strong year for film and a vast improvement over a lackluster 2016. Sure there have been some truly awful films this year but most are shoddy blockbusters that highlight the laziness of bigger studios aiming to have the next big film series, a trend that has continued the last few years. Compiling a list of the best films of last year was no easy task, and once whittled down to 22 potential entries it became far harder. While we could have done a list of the best 22 films of 2017, that would require a lot more writing and we don’t like you that much.

As we are based here in Ireland, many films receive different release dates than in other countries. Usually, most of the Oscar-nominated films are released a year later in the early months of Ireland so Oscar hopefuls like Lady Bird, The Shape of Water and The Post will be released here in 2018. This also leads to an overlap of certain movies released in 2016 that only came out in Ireland last year. So while we have just recently seen Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (review coming soon), we have to disregard it from our list and consider it a 2018 movie.

10. Good Time

The Safdie brothers have built a reputation of examining the darker sides of the human condition, exclusively in New York, with an unflinching matter of fact approach. There’s certainly parallels to draw from their work to Scorsese’ earlier films such as Mean Streets where out leading characters fit in the grey area between protagonist and antagonist. Good Time is an odyssey of ineptitude and misery set to a pulsating synth soundtrack and grainy, intimate cinematography that captures the unfolding desperation on each character’s face. Robert Pattinson’s performance is a tour de force and the highlight of an already impressive film.

9. It Comes at Night

It Comes at Night is a tightly directed psychological horror with a superb cast and a pulsating score. Director Shults crafts a dreary, intense mood throughout. From start to finish there’s a raw sense of discomfort and uneasiness. We know nothing of these characters back stories but we know what their prime objective is, survive at all costs. You begin to understand these peoples paranoia, why they are so distant and cold. They’ve seen true horrors and lost everything. Suddenly small irregularities in characters stories begin to gnaw away in your own mind as you question what would you do in this situation, a situation where a single lapse in judgement equals death. It’s an exploration of the darker corners of our mind and how we can rationalize such thoughts.

8. Baby Driver

Taking much inspiration from films like Bullit, The Driver, Heat, Vanishing Point, and so on, Wright sets out to make his own noir/crime tale. Much of the beats feel familiar but Wright puts his own stamp on the genre with stunning colours, quirky humour, and a pumping soundtrack. There are moments of comedy sprinkled throughout but for the most part Baby Driver is a stylish, kinetic joyride of a film with some thudding shootout scenes that would make Michael Mann blush. However, these shootout scenes pale in comparison to the films chase sequences. Edgar Wright knows his cinematic car chases and understands exactly what makes them great. Each turn and swerve is caught perfectly and the streets feel mapped out to give a sense of cinematic geography. Every moment Baby is behind the wheel sucks you right in and has you gripping to your seat. Not since Ronin have car chase sequences been this exciting.

7. Logan

Logan is less of a superhero film and more of a character study focusing on the titular character as he’s forced to face his past and who he is. The film seems to be heavily influenced by the classic film Shane and has a western vibe to it. This bleak world looks awfully similar to the dying days of the wild west. Jackman gives one of his finest performances to date as the most vulnerable incarnation of the character we’ve seen to date. It also helps that he’s supported by the legendary Patrick Stewart who gets to play a very loosened up Charles Xavier with a foul mouth. Dafne Keen is a revelation in her film debut as Laura, she has the meanest scowl besides the main man and wonderfully acts through the majority of the film without saying a word. The perfect swan song for Jackman and the character.

6. Brigsby Bear

There are many moments in Dave McCary’s Brigsby Bear where I was prepared for it to take a sinister turn, thankfully each time I was delighted to be proven wrong. I said earlier this year Logan Lucky was good-natured filmmaking at its finest, well Brigsby Bear is charming and endearing filmmaking at its finest. Its sincere, charming, funny, and best of all, creative. It’s an indie film with some seriously big-name writers behind it such as the Lonely Island, Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie).

5. The Red Turtle

Set to the backdrop of a beautiful string Quartet, The Red Turtle is a series of moments and scenes each as poignant and eloquent as the last. By the closing moments of the film, I could feel a lump in my throat and weary eyes. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why this film hit me on such an emotional level. The ending is quite bittersweet but overall the journey this film brought me on was profound. It was an escape for eighty minutes to a moment which needed no language, words or conflict. It’s a moving canvass of surreal dreams, meditative resolve and old-fashioned cinema. To use two words I barely recognize in my vocabulary, The Red Turtle was a Sweet and somber experience.

4. Get Out

Jordan Peele establishes himself as a real legitimate talent behind the camera here. The performances he gets out of his actors are note-perfect. The actors are going through a lot of different emotions in short periods of time here, having to move from total relaxation to mild suspicion to genuinely uncomfortable to terrified in short spans of time, and everyone sells it perfectly. They’re all working off a really brilliant script too. I haven’t seen a movie that is able to weave in foreshadowing and larger character beats this naturally into the dialogue for quite some time. It all feels very grounded and none of it comes off as forced. Even elements like the comedic side-character, something that could’ve fallen really flat in anyone else’s hands, come as a welcome relief to break up the pacing.

3. War for the Planet of the Apes

Riveting story, rich history and stellar character development aside, War for the Planet of the Apes is a technical marvel of a film. With the best character models seen in any film to date, the motion capture is unbelievable as reality becomes blurred as you witness these talking simians. The motion capture is a surrogate for Andy Serkis and the supporting cast to transform and deliver otherworldly performances. There are so many scenes where an entire conversation takes place without a single word spoken, these actors can convey everything with simple facial expressions. Cinematographer Michael Seresin brings a dark beauty to the film with lush shots of snow-capped mountains, dense forestry, and sprawling landscapes. There’s a thrilling shot from the beginning of the film where the apes appear through the mist on horseback carrying spears and bows that had my heart thumping. Michael Giacchino produces another heart wrenching and somber score and solidifies himself as one of the best film composers alive.

2. Moonlight

Barry Jenkins has made this film for cinema lovers. I don’t believe this is a film directed at casual audiences – not because they won’t understand it or lack the knowledge of how to enjoy it – It’s because it would be difficult for them to truly appreciate what a complete package this film is on a technical level. I cannot point out one flaw or blunder this film makes. It simply left me in awe. Every performance in Moonlight is a revelation. Each character feels so real that I had to rub my eyes and remind myself that I wasn’t in someone else’s dream. It’s easy to identify great performances but in Moonlight I was transported into this world. Mahershela Ali and Naomie Harris both give career-best performances. The diner scene in the last act is perhaps one of the greatest scenes of pure acting I’ve witnessed in a long time. The raw emotion, seamless dialogue and masterful camerawork placed me right there in the moment hanging onto every word these characters said. It is perhaps what’s not said that resonates the most in Moonlight.

1. Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049 is a beautifully crafted film by a bunch of great filmmakers, composers and cinematographers at the top of their game. This is a visual masterpiece as Roger Deakins recreates this harsh, crowded, neon-saturated world with such panache you’ll get lost in the beauty and craftsmanship. The original might have changed how we visualized future cityscapes, while Blade Runner 2049 gives a future that reflects our own technological advancements with neon marketing distracting from the brutalist architecture on closer inspection. This world feels lived in, shaped by generations of human advancement and in other areas, neglect. It’s easily my favourite film of 2017 and while it’s too early to tell if it could be seen as a better film than the original. I’m so confident in this film I expect that those who were not fans of the original will be blown away by this fantastic sequel

Happy New Year to you all! In Ireland, the start of a new year brings us the release of the Oscar hopefuls. The first Oscar hopeful on our radar was Darkest Hour. All the buzz surrounding Darkest Hour for the last few months involved how much Gary Oldman did not look like Gary Oldman. The makeup work in this film to transform him into Winston Churchill is astounding. It kind of goes without saying that the makeup artists involved deserve an insane amount of recognition because I forgot I was watching Gary Oldman. The actor is no stranger to total transformations like this, but the prosthetics in this film are quite possibly some of the best I’ve ever seen (his frog keck convincingly jiggled).

Oldman himself is fantastic. Winston Churchill would not be the first role one would consider for Oldman and yet he gives the best onscreen of the legendary leader. He sells every scene with incredible passion and he disappears into his character, all makeup work aside. Lily James and Ben Mendelsohn are also standouts here in key roles, but they never outshine the true star. It’s made clear early on that Oldman is going to be the centre of attention, and he fully embraces that in a few particularly extravagant moments.

Darkest Hour is a film that explores what went on behind the scenes during World War II and Churchill’s early days in office. At times it seems to rely on the viewer to either pay attention to every detail or to already know a bit of backstory. I don’t want to discredit a film for requiring its viewer to pay attention to every line of dialogue, but it did lose me a few times and the pacing suffered because of it.

It did find ways to fascinate me. A few scenes really amp up the triumphant atmosphere that few political dramas contain, the political squabbling is not only fascinating but also gives weight to the real-life events that followed. The performances and the musical score really support those moments, while other moments bring to light who Winston Churchill was as a person, which are possibly even more impactful. There’s a wonderful scene that takes place in the London Underground that gave us a very personal look into how Churchill interacted with people. The citizens riding the train are fascinated by his presence, and he just speaks to them like he’s known them for a long time.

Darkest Hour is an exploration of an extremely influential man’s life. It gives an insight into both sides of that life. We get to be a part of his relationship with his wife and with his personal secretary, and we also get to see how he impacted the United Kingdom and the world after being made Prime Minister. Interestingly, it takes place during the Battle of Dunkirk and works as a companion piece to Nolan’s film of the same name. While Dunkirk focused on the event itself and the rescue of British soldiers, in this biopic we get to see everything behind the scenes that lead to that rescue. Both stories are fascinating in their own ways, and they complement each other wonderfully.

Ain’t no dry January up in here!! Welcome back to Beer Goggles, where we liquify our brain cells and put years on our livers. Also, sometimes we review crappy movies. I have a bit of a confession to make. I was supposed to review Geostorm weeks ago but got so thrashed before and after the screening, I genuinely had no memory of the film. Feeling like I had cheated myself out of one of 2017’s biggest movies, I loaded up on fewer pints and decided to revisit it.

What made Geostorm special to me is it’s a film released 10 years too late. Disaster movies were all the rage in the 90’s where studios could show off their expensive effects as the world was semi-destroyed in some cool way. Most times it’s was just an asteroid or some kind of doomsday event out of our control but then this genre began to bring global warming into it. The success of the genre is largely due to Roland Emmerich, disaster porn artist, with blockbusters such as Independence Day and Godzilla. However, the genre began to lose steam in the early 2000’s and the quality of Emmerich’s film plummeted (or stayed consistent depending on who you ask).

The initial plot summary for the film on IMDB sealed the deal as one of my most anticipated films; “Follows a stubborn but charming satellite designer who, when the worlds climate-controlling satellites malfunction, has to work with his estranged brother to save the world from a man-made storm of epic proportions. A trip into space follows, while on earth a plot to assassinate the president unfolds”.

Unfortunately, Emmerich stepped aside for Geostorm but luckily he handed it to his frequent collaborator and writer, Dean Devlin. Even in the sloshed state I was in, Geostorm was somehow drunker than me. The concept that Gerard Butler was a scientist that designed a space station that controls the weather was a concept that never stopped being funny. What was even funnier is that the film gives Butler fuck all action scenes and instead relegates it to his far less gruff and less muscly brother.

Perhaps even funnier is the blatant disregard for other nationalities outside of America. The film opens up saying that global warming has shagged the world and all the countries put aside their differences to make the space station. Yet, when this grand conspiracy unfolds, its only foreign countries getting fucked. Then in a twist that even a drunk like me spotted from the start, Ed Harris’ character turns out to be the bad guy who’s targeting America’s enemies. Since when did The United Arab Emirates, Afganistan, China, India, and Brazil become America’s enemies!!!

Even for all it’s stupidity, clichés, and odd narrative choices, I was thoroughly entertained. While slightly squandered on the action front, Butler is given plenty of clumsy and ridiculous dialogue that has me laughing throughout (Yeah, sorry about that. I literally had to fly in from outer space). Geostorm takes itself way too seriously which is half the fun but somehow comes across as more competent and grounded than anything Emmerich has ever made.

Going into this film, I was unsure whether Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a sequel or a reboot of the 1995 film. It features a reference to that movie which leads me to believe they take place in the same universe. Jumanji is now a video game now that literally sucks its players into the world, as opposed to bringing the jungle to them. Everybody in this movie experiences what Robin Williams’s character had to go through in the original and they have to find a way to beat the game in order to escape.

Nostalgia aside, Welcome to the Jungle is a better film than the original Jumanji. I want to avoid comparing them too much because this new version stands very well as its own story. It features a similar concept, but we meet new characters and follow a different and very unique story with them that provides a lot of comedy and a surprising sense of adventure that makes this an unexpectedly solid film.

The funniest lines and moments in the movie come from the lead actors playing characters they usually wouldn’t play. They’re all stereotypical high schoolers, but they’re trapped in the bodies of the cartoonish avatars they chose. They each have their own unique traits, skills, strengths, and weaknesses that you would find in a video game character which give the avatars development, but the real character depth comes from their teenage minds.

The Rock plays the avatar of a nerdy, unpopular boy who is afraid of squirrels, while Kevin Hart is the large and stoic football star. Karen Gillan plays the insecure outcast who suddenly inherits crazy martial arts skills when she enters the game, and possibly best of all, Jack Black is a popular and self-obsessed teenage girl, which provides for some of the best moments in the film. All of these actors get the chance to play against type (Kevin Hart still has his Kevin Hart-isms, but I could look past that because he actually was hilarious in the film), and it lends to the unconventional but satisfying sense of humour that the movie has.

I also really admire the way the film plays with video game mechanics in an inventive way. The world of Jumanji is presented as the world of a game, complete with option menus, cut scenes, and NPCs (non-player characters). The characters have lives and can only die a certain number of times before they are gone for good, and while at first there was little urgency because I felt like they could die whenever they wanted, it later lead to more suspenseful action and a good message about making the most of the one life we have.

Jumanji isn’t a film that everybody has to rush out to see, and it’s certainly not the best comedy or the most inventive movie of the year, but it seriously surprised me with its wit and charisma. All the characters have great chemistry and the world they are adventuring in feels like a real, immersive jungle while also feeling like a video game. It’s a good-looking movie, with pretty seamless CGI and lots of colour, but the heart of the story is in what the characters learn by the end and the bond they develop. I found myself enjoying the movie a lot more than I expected to, and I think it’s a fantastic comedy for people to go to and be entertained.

Back in my college days, I used to browse the net for terrible movies and clips of dreadful acting to pass the time. Naturally, this past time led me to Tommy Wiseau’s magnum opus of incompetence, The Room. It was truly a sight to behold. What made The Room different was the genuine effort poured into the film by its creator, Tommy Wiseau. I was used to shlocky, Roger Corman type B movies with rubber monsters and copious amounts of gore and nudity; but here the rubber looking monster was its leading man, director, producer and writer. I became enamoured with this film, the cult following it garnered and the mysteries of Wiseau himself (how old he was, where he was from and how he financed this $6 million passion project). An obsession I appear to share with James Franco.

As amazing as every second of the 99-minute runtime of The Room is, it’s the stories about the production of the film have become almost more infamous than the film itself. Wiseau’s friend and The Room co-star, Greg Sestero, thankfully documented the madness behind the scenes in his memoir, The Disaster Artist. The book is a fascinating and hilarious read that gives a great insight into Greg and Tommy’s bizarre friendship. It was a book screaming to be adapted to the big screen in the vain of the next Ed Wood (1994).

In an acting class in 1998, timid and aspiring actor Greg Sestro struggles to reveal himself to his teacher and classmates for fear of ridicule. It is in this faithful class that fellow aspiring actor and full time oddball, Tommy Wiseau, unleashes a fearless but bonkers rendition of A Streetcar Named Desire. Greg is drawn to his fearless nature and Tommy is just happy to have someone enjoy him for being himself. They form an unlikely friendship and decide to pursue their dream by traveling to L.A to kickstart their Hollywood careers. Together they would create one of the most infamous films of the 21st century.

Franco’s performance is fantastic and well deserving of the Golden Globe he received last night. He captures Tommy’s accent and mannerisms disturbingly well and really gives a sense of depth to this mysterious strange man.

Surprisingly the film takes a bit of a sinister turn during the infamous shooting scenes. While I always thought of the shooting scenes and Tommy’s actions as trivial and comedic, he was genuinely a nightmare on set. Taking inspiration from hardline directors like Alfred Hitchcock who tormented his cast, Tommy berates and confronts his staff with harsh put-downs as chaos ensues due to his incompetence and insecurities.

If I had one major gripe, it’s the liberties the film takes with the source material. Sestero is portrayed as enthusiastic about the movie and pretty naive whereas he admits to being pretty cynical about the whole production and tried to distance himself from it. The film also omits a lot of hilarious moments from the book that would have been great to see on the big screen. Ultimately, The Disaster Artist is a very funny film about an unlikely friendship and a success made from what many would have conceived a failure on every level of filmmaking. Franco does an amiable job of adapting this insane story and keeps the laughs coming.

Truthfully I don’t know why the story of P.T. Barnum, the founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, had to be a musical. I’m not sure what made somebody at the studio look at this story and decide that it had to be told as a family film through song and dance. Funny enough, it actually does work for the story and the musical numbers ended up being the best part of the film. Hugh Jackman isn’t new to the world of musicals and he does great work here, as does much of the cast. What didn’t work for me, though, was the story and the tone, the way the characters were presented in a washed-out way, which made The Greatest Showman a much less remarkable film than I would have hoped.

The movie tries too hard to pander to families. I have nothing against movies that the whole family can see together, and The Greatest Showman works fine as a PG-rated musical, but I also know that family films don’t have to gloss over more mature topics. Studios like Pixar, who make animated movies for children, understand that stories can have complex and mature themes while also being entertaining for the younger viewers. This movie deals with quite a few subjects that could be very powerful and thought-provoking, but they could have been presented in a more real way. By glossing over these parts of the story and not exploring them deeper, the film loses much of the depth it could have had and is much light-hearted than the real story it’s based on.

Biopics like this obviously have to alter certain events stretch and compress time, switch plot points around, exaggerate or remove some parts—but there’s so much potential for complex drama in the life of P.T. Barnum that isn’t explored here. It’s all a bit too perfect, with any holes the character digging himself into being resolved with a quick musical number. He’s presented as a perfect role model with very few character flaws or traits that make him interesting besides his ambition.

Hugh Jackman does manage to salvage the role, though, with his charisma and his knack for singing and dancing. Zac Efron is the other standout, and the two play wonderfully off of each other. They have a great number together in a bar when they’re beginning their partnership, and it was those more personal songs between just a few characters that I enjoyed the most.

The extravagance of the opening and the final numbers and a few of the ones in between are what give the film its flair that will likely appeal to a wide audience. The music is given a modern spin, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. I think most people will enjoy themselves and remember the spectacle over the story. At times the film is very rushed, and my biggest problem with the story is its lack of the complexity that could have been there. The characters do have charm, though, and this is a visually magnificent film, so I suppose if that’s all you’re looking for, you can sit back and have a perfectly enjoyable time with The Greatest Showman.